Angela Lese

Professional Drummer – Nashville, TN

Angela Lese is a professional drummer residing in Nashville, TN. For nearly 20 years, she has focused on live performance and touring, as well as studio work and BGVs. Angela has been on several national tours and major rock cruises with bands such as Bush, Chevelle, Halestorm and P.O.D., and has worked alongside/shared the stage with countless of the industry’s best.

Angela has gained tremendous support from many of music’s top professionals, such as Rachel Bolan, Billy Sheehan, Michael Wagener, and Page Hamilton to name a few. She continuously broadens her reach and expands her talents, playing across a variety of genres. Her ability to learn material quickly, strong work ethic, eager attitude and working passport makes her ready to work/tour anywhere at a moment’s notice.

“Angie’s style is straight forward and ferocious. Killer meter and versatility is why she stays so busy. ‘Playing like a girl’ is the highest compliment when that girl is Angie Lese.” – Rachel Bolan (Skid Row)

“I have been working with Angie on a few different projects and she is one of the best and most interesting modern drummers, and amazing to work with.” – Michael Wagener (Producer, Engineer)

– Shiprocked Cruise (2018, just Angela – member of the supergroup The Stowaways)

– MC50 (2018, Taco Mouth)

– Dorothy (2019, Taco Mouth)

– Indianapolis Pride Festival (June 2019, Taco Mouth)

– Nashville Pride Festival (June 2019, Taco Mouth)

– Atlanta Pride Festival (October 2019, Taco Mouth)

Bio

Angela grew up in Fort Wayne, IN surrounded by music. She took to flute early and played it through high school (she even majored in Flute Performance at a private college). But she was destined to be a drummer…whether she was sitting down at her uncle’s drum kit, or bugging her high school pep bandmates to teach her fills, Angela could just naturally play. So finally, in college, she bought her first drum set (Tama, of course).

Angela wound up in Louisville, KY in 2005 where she heavily pursued music. She played for a Sony recording artist, joined several cover bands, and was a session drummer, as well. Her main band, CatFight (original punk/grunge rock), gained a local and regional following, also gaining the support from then Little Heart Records, under which they released the EP CatFight (2013). While that band was taking off, Angela moved to Nashville, TN in 2012 for a job promotion.

After immersing herself in the Nashville music scene, Angie joined forces with fellow Catfight member Erica Sellers, and three other musicians to form The Dead Deads in late 2013. The Dead Deads had a quick rise and played on several national tours (Halestorm, P.O.D., Bush, Chevelle, the Motorboat and Shiprocked cruises, etc.) and recorded two full-length albums and an EP (“Rainbeau” (2014), “For Your Obliteration” (2016), produced by Page Hamilton of Helmet, and the “Flying Saucers” EP (2017), produced by Matt Mahaffey of sElf).

In late 2017, Angela left The Dead Deads and formed a new band called Taco Mouth with Sellers. Taco Mouth has released an EP and a full-length album, “W.G.A.F.” and “A Deafening Silence,” respectively (both in 2018). Those were produced by friend and legend, Michael Wagener (Dokken, Skid Row, Metallica, etc.). At the same time, Angela joined the Raelyn Nelson Band, an outlaw country/punk rock band fronted by Raelyn Nelson (Willie Nelson’s granddaughter) in late 2017.

By early 2019, Angela decided to just drum for her band Taco Mouth as their quick rise needed her full attention, although she does fill her time gaps with hired gun opportunities (live and studio drums/vocals). She has quickly become part of the Nashville drumming community, recognized by the city’s top musicians from her hard work, excitement, talent and professionalism.

Outside of drumming, Angela has years of experience in public speaking and mentoring from her old meteorology career. Along with those skills, Angela is also skilled at booking, bookkeeping, managing, and social media. She spends any free time with her wife and animals, where she also enjoys reading, gardening, writing, and practicing Tarot.